PAUL (ALAIN)'S LIFE

Paul as a Child

Paul (Alain) was born in France in 1952. Raised in a Catholic family, he was the middle child of three boys. When he was five years old, a priest told his mom that her son was going to become a missionary.

When he became a teenager, he began to excel in mathematics, physics and athletics, and was later accepted into one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in France to study engineering.  It was also during this time that he became an atheist. He began studying philosophy and Communism and was active in joining youth rallies and protests. He also took up smoking and drinking, and described himself at the time as a wandering star, without any purpose or meaning to his life. It came to the point where he thought that there was no difference between life and death.

Paul (Center) and His Brothers

After a heartbreaking experience, he returned home and talked with his mother, who encouraged him to search for God personally and find out for himself if God was real or not. That night, he prayed and when he woke up the next morning, his life had totally changed! His heart was overflowing with joy, peace, purpose and meaning in life and he began to tell his friends how Jesus had completely changed him.

Paul Teaching a Bible Class

He began desperately searching for a way to serve the Lord and had a vivid dream about the Endtime. Two days later, two young missionaries came to his campus and on the pamphlet they gave him, was written the very same words he had seen in his dream. He had found what he was looking for! From that time on, he gave his whole life to God and decided to serve Him full-time.

Paul, Maria, and Jeannette

His missionary service began by distributing thousands of pieces of literature, singing and witnessing at youth gatherings and promoting music shows. He traveled throughout Europe, where he eventually met his wife, Maria (Claudia) and they married shortly after.

In 1982, Paul (Alain) and his wife and two children moved to Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India where he oversaw mission bases throughout the subcontinent and distributed hundreds of Gospel music cassettes. In 1988, their family moved to Japan, where he worked as a fundraiser for missionary schools and projects. Later on that year, they returned to Europe.

Paul, Maria, and Their Family in Japan

In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Paul and his family moved to Eastern Europe, distributing hundreds of thousands of pieces of Christian literature to people who had never heard of Jesus before. He also helped to organize several Christian leadership training seminars for these new believers.

In 1995, the Lord showed them to move to Africa for missionary and humanitarian work. While visiting a friend, Paul happened to see a newsletter from Simon and his Indian wife Joan, who were planning to return to Nigeria to start a mission work. Overjoyed with the news, Paul and Maria wrote to them and they agreed to work together.

Shortly After Arriving in Nigeria

After two years, in 1997, Paul and Maria and seven of their eight children arrived in Nigeria and were welcomed by Simon and his family.

In the years that followed, Paul organized
several disaster relief projects with Doctors without Borders and the Red Cross, delivering medicines and hospital supplies. Paul was one of the main organizers of 90 free rural aid medical programs throughout the country, through which almost 300,000 people in villages received free medical treatment.

Distributing Character Building DVDs

He was actively involved in the distribution of hundreds of thousands of devotional, educational and character-building books and videos throughout the country, distributing them in churches, bookstores and supermarkets and to private individuals and families. Paul also loved to distribute the Activated magazine.

Paul was passionate about winning souls and following up on those He led to the Lord by phone and by distributing printed Bible classes. Since the pandemic, Paul focused much of his time on his WhatsApp ministry, sending out daily messages to over 1,000 people, counseling friends on health, marriage and work issues.

He passed away on the 19th of January 2022, after being hospitalized because of a heart condition. Paul had served the Lord as a missionary in Europe, India, Nepal, Japan and Nigeria for 48 years (25 were spent in Nigeria).

He is fondly loved and cherished by his wife, Maria (Claudia) and his eight children and by all his many friends in Nigeria and abroad.

They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)